Colette, you name sake of the famous French novelist, what honor to spend an evening with you.

Colette, you star of Coatesville, PA, you high school teacher who made your students happy, whether you taught consumer economics or whether you allowed them to see a real mensch.

Colette, you story teller of story tellers who feels at home wherever you go: at tea parties for the rich at the Radnor Hotel, entertaining young brats, or opening young minds to the wonders of the world at your beloved Head Start program.

Colette, you beautiful, you elegant woman who has more costumes in your closets than clothing, because that’s what a Fairy Princess needs when she opens up her doors for the next generation to help shape the imagination of the young who might become makers of ballet shoes or financial princes, young people who will remember the mysterious Colette for the rest of their lives.

Colette, you friend of all friends: your beauty, your charm, your endless energy has attracted some of the finest friends anyone could wish for, whether you live in a house of stone or a house of glass.

Colette, you friend of old and young and friend even of Japanese chin dogs like Yaki and Daisy who entertain the neighbors, running around happily in their red sweaters, classical Colette style, what else?

Colette, you trooper who walks into the cancer wing of a hospital like true royalty, befriending physicians, and nurses, and poor cleaners alike.

Colette, you creator of life, you story teller in front of the Lord, please keep on dancing with costumes and words, and with your energy that already is legendary.

Colette, may we spend many more New Year’s Eves together, and may we all leave behind as rich a legacy as you have.

Colette, you American wunderkind, you charmer who makes even the Heavens smile, keep on dancing, keep on loving life.

Colette, may the lights that you lit during all those years, the eyes you brightened whenever you told stories of old, may those lights help you during dark hours, and last, but not least,

Colette, although I am not religious by any stretch of the imagination, I want you to know that I feel blessed by you and the good spirit which hovers over you wherever you go: Colette, Colette, Colette.

Poet

Henrik Eger, Ph.D., bilingual writer of plays, poems, stories, articles, and textbooks. Theatre correspondent. Professor of English and Communication, champion for minorities, and traveler who loves his home, his dog, his friends, and of course, theatre--and all it stands for.